Frodo and Maybelle
by Aria Breuer
Summary: Frodo Baggins was twelve years old when everything went wrong. He was looking for mushrooms in Farmer Maggot's land. He had to flee… oh no! There was a girl standing in the middle of the road. How could he get past her? It's Beauty and the Beast, LOTR style. Featuring Frodo Baggins, Bilbo Baggins, Lotho Sackville Baggins, and original characters.


**Disclaimers:** I do not own _The Lord of the Rings_ and "Beauty and the Beast". They belong to J.R.R. Tolkien and Disney. I only own the original plot, original characters, etc.

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I've been waiting for a long time trying to figure out how to do this story. I really wanted to see what happened when Frodo becomes the Beast and Bag End his prison of sorts. As for the summary, I thought I'd change it up a bit. But then this story has elements from the fairytale, _Beauty and the Beast_. So, let's see what happens to this spin on the classic fairytale, Middle-earth style! :)

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Frodo Baggins was twelve years old when events turned in the wrong direction. He was out scraping mushrooms from the loose soil in Mr. Maggot's farmland. He had to escape this place as best he could, but how… oh no. There was a girl standing on the road to Buckland. How was he to get past her?

"A rose, sir? Please bring me with you home? Where is it? Is it far?" the girl pressed forward.

"Uh… no. I'm sorry." Frodo winced at the thought. Had he made a mistake… there was a light. He turned around, coming face to face with a beautiful golden haired wonder of a woman. He dropped his vegetables at once… including his mushrooms. But how?

"Because you have disapproved my request," the woman said, holding out a wand, "you shall be transformed into a monster until someone loves you. But you have until your coming of age to do so. Go! Find sanctuary! You will need it, young Frodo. Good luck to you."

"What—" Frodo winced in pain. His muscles were changing. Fur grew more rapidly along his arms, legs and… there was fur on his entire body. He arched. He couldn't control this change… no. He saw his reflection. He was a wolfman – eh, wolf-hobbit. No. He wept in sorrow. Yes, his clothes were still present – they didn't tear off or break away as he expected this transformation… but he couldn't go home.

He rushed on all fours. His tailbone grew. He looked back. No. He had a tail. He needed to find shelter fast, and found it when he reached Bag End. His Uncle Bilbo took him in. He couldn't understand it. Was this what he was to be? He couldn't go back to Brandy Hall, and yet he did, but he was stuck as a monster. A beast. Who would look at him now? He would give up stealing, but… love. What was love? How could he live with himself like this? It was so sad.

-.-.-

 _Twelve Years Later…_

Lotho Sackville-Baggins flexed his muscles. He was so proud of his physic and muscles that he wanted to impress the girls. Yes! Soon his parents would own Bag End and they could finally get Mad Baggins and his neurotic nephew out of the estate. Beast or no beast, Lotho knew his parents had their sights set on the smial. And… no way. There was the beauty of Bywater. Spirited, but with a good, decent heart. He didn't care for her name, but there she was! Just right in front of him…

"Lotho, watch where you're going?" the young lady said hotly.

"You watch it too, Maybelle," Lotho said.

"I told you. Call me May," Maybelle said, opening her book up.

"Eh… what are you doing?" Lotho leaned over her shoulder. "Ah. Is it a good book you're reading?"

"Oh. This book." Maybelle shrugged. Lotho moved a lock of her brunette hair off her face. "It's about dragons and ogres…" she sighed as he retracted his hand off her face. Maybelle moved the lock of hair behind her ear. "It's quite a fascinating story. I would so love an adventure."

"Oh. Well, you might want to check with Bilbo Baggins." Lotho said, disgruntled. "But don't go up there, you won't return. Mother forbids it."

"I have nowhere else to go tonight. And with my father taking care of my mother… hmm. Maybe I will check out Bag End. Just for a spell," Maybelle said, charging towards the bridge. Her blue dress whisked as the wind carried her to the smial. Lotho shouted to her, but she didn't hear him. And yet, she knew everyone spoke of Bag End as this terrifying place with a Beast, but… oh. One day at the smial wouldn't hurt anyone.

"You're heading into danger!" Lotho warned her last. "Don't say I didn't warn you!"

"You wish, Lotho. Indeed, you wish," Maybelle said, climbing up the hill. Oh, the dirt road continued to wind farther up. She was almost there. Wait… was there roaring inside? Yes, she was close now to the doorstep. She knocked against the front green door. There was roaring inside, but how…

"There's no one home!" that voice sounded an awful lot like Bilbo's voice.

"Bilbo Baggins, it's me Maybelle! I've come to check up on you and Frodo," Maybelle announced herself. At first, she heard no one coming. But then the sounds of footsteps approached. As they did, her memories returned of this place. Frodo had been trapped in beast form since he was twelve years old. But then, ever since the first time she met him, they were children. She remembered it vividly, even on the smial's threshold…

" _Stay back!" Bilbo shouted. Frodo was in a rage again._

" _Bilbo, is it safe to let our daughter inside this house," Maybelle's mother protested. "Look at him! Who could love him?"_

 _Frodo whimpered. Maybelle could only guess what pain he was under._

" _Papa, I want to see him," Maybelle addressed her father._

" _Go ahead," her father said._

" _Show yourself to me, Frodo," Maybelle said. Her green eyes pierced into Frodo's blue eyes. "Come on. It's okay. Let me see your face. Please?"_

" _It's okay, uncle," Frodo said. Maybelle waited for him. Slowly, Frodo moved his furry, brown hind leg towards the sunlight. Maybelle gasped at the sight of him. She was truly afraid of him. And that made Frodo want to retreat._

" _No. Stop! Wait!" Maybelle reached for his hand, and touched it. Frodo shuddered at her hand._

" _No. Please." Frodo returned into the shadows. "I'm a monster."_

" _No. You're not," Maybelle said, kindly. "Frodo, look at me. It's okay."_

" _Maybelle," Her mother said._

" _Mother please," Maybelle said, gentle. She turned to Frodo, "Frodo."_

" _I'm a monster. Leave me be," Frodo said last. There was pain in his voice. But Maybelle wouldn't rest, not now. There had to be a way to get Frodo back to hobbit form again._

Ever since that moment in time, Maybelle wouldn't falter. If there was a way to break the enchantress' spell, why not do better than to help Frodo along, until a solution was given?

The door opened. Maybelle took a step back. Bilbo panted. His hair was a mess.

"I'm afraid you've come at a bad time. Frodo won't see anyone today," Bilbo said.

"What's he done now?" Maybelle asked him.

"He's wrecking furniture in the study. He won't leave. He says he's got to write his latest book about him as a beast," Bilbo said.

"I think it's time to set Frodo straight. Please let me see him," Maybelle pleaded.

"Go ahead," Bilbo said, opening the door for her.

"Thank you," Maybelle said, smiling. Yes, indeed, as she entered the house, there was movement and various banging sounds coming from one of the rooms. She shook at the soft sound the front green door made when Bilbo closed it. Well, she could only expect the best. But still… "Frodo! Frodo?" She wandered down the hallway, only to find the study torn apart and papers flying everywhere. It was as if Frodo was behaving like a wolf. He grew up as she did, but he was so tall and much more menacing, but also in pain. How she wished his grieving would cease, but… no. It was okay to cry.

"I understand your pain, Frodo," Maybelle said. "I know what it feels like to lose someone, to lose yourself. I may be awkward and…"

"You're not awkward." Frodo said softly. He growled in fury, " _Look at me!_ "

"I am looking," Maybelle said. "You look like a… a beast, a monster, but…"

"That's because I am a monster," Frodo said.

"And you've torn up my furniture in here, cousin!" Bilbo spoke, furious. "You know how much I'll need to replace."

"What can you do to help me?" Frodo asked, gazing into Maybelle's eyes. But he couldn't… she was beautiful and he… he was a monster. He trembled at her touch. Did she care about him enough to see through the monster, to see past this form? "Can you help me?"

"You know how long I've waited to hear that," Maybelle blushed. Frodo watched her cautiously. She was beautiful, kind and sweet. He stood up, banging his head against the ceiling.

"Ow!" Frodo cried. Maybelle laughed. He wasn't surprised. "Go ahead. Laugh at me. Everyone else has looked at me strangely."

"True. But I think you're more than a monster, Frodo," Maybelle said, smiling. "You're a hobbit still. I know you're in there somewhere." She took his hand. "Come on. We'll prove to everyone you're different."

"I don't know," Frodo was cautious. He had seen Maybelle. He grew up with her. She took care of him in the best way a friend could. And… he loved her. But did she love him? Was he ready for everyone to see him like this? "Lead the way."

"Come on." Maybelle said.

"Maybelle," Frodo moved on all fours. "Do you love me?"

"Do you?" Maybelle asked.

"I do," Frodo smiled at her. "We've spent years together. I wonder if you share the same feelings for me."

"Frodo, I…" Maybelle was cut off. Bilbo opened the front door for them. Frodo stepped back into the shadows. There was a mob of hobbits on the front doorstep. Lotho included.

"Come on!" Lotho cried. "We know Frodo's in there! We want to see the monster that he truly is!"

"He's not a monster, Lotho!" Maybelle said. She turned towards the shadows of Bag End's hallway. "Frodo, come on. It's all right."

Frodo moved into the light. He hated to be shown off like this, like an animal that… no. He could do this. He just needed the appropriate kind of courage needed to win this fight.

"He's a wolf!" one of the hobbits shouted.

"You know what happens to wolves, hobbits?!" Lotho cried.

"YEAH!" the mob said.

"NOOO!" Maybelle stood in-between Frodo and Lotho. "He won't hurt you. Let me talk with him."

"You can't reason with him," another hobbit shouted.

"Please. I've help take care of him. Did anyone else care for him?" Maybelle asked the crowd.

"Please, let the boy speak," Bilbo said.

"This isn't over, Bilbo Baggins," Lotho cried. "Bag End will belong to the Sackville-Bagginses yet!"

"Maybelle," Frodo asked Maybelle. He felt so sleepy. "I love you. Do you love me? I feel so tired."

"Frodo, I love you," Maybelle said, tenderly.

"You mean it? Truly you care for me?" Frodo asked, tired.

"Yes Frodo. Yes I do care about you. I love you," Maybelle said, her head lowering onto his chest for a moment. She moved back upon Frodo's sleeping form transforming from animal to hobbit. He still wore the same clothes, but he was back to a hobbit tween. They did it. The spell was broken, but she and the crowd didn't recognize Frodo now in this form.

Frodo awoke. He checked his hands, his face and his body. He no longer had fur. His feet were still hairy as was his brown curly hair. He was back. He was a hobbit again. And Maybelle…

"Maybelle, it's me. The spell's broken," Frodo said to her, grasping her hands. For a moment, he wondered if she recognized him. Her expression changed to happiness.

"Frodo, it's you. You're back. You're a hobbit," Maybelle said.

"Again," Frodo said, nodding and smiling. "Thank you for all your help." He hadn't expected Maybelle to kiss him so tenderly. His heart felt right with her, as if the spell and the enchantress had done their job well.

"This makes no sense!" Lotho complained. "I was supposed to get Bag End! This isn't fair!"

"My furniture's back!" Bilbo cried in delight. "It's all back to normal!"

Frodo smiled once more. He couldn't stop smiling and laughing merrily. Everything was as it should be. A happily ever after in the making… complete with Maybelle finding out her mother's fever broke, thanks to the herbalist and his remedy. He grinned. That was good news. And it was just about to get better from here on out.

-.-.-

 _Twenty Years Later…_

"Papa, tell us what happened?" Frodo's daughter asked him. His son joined him, as did Maybelle.

"Yes Frodo. How did it go again?" Maybelle, his wife, asked with a wink.

"All right." Frodo begun the tale that would be told for generations to come. "There was this hobbit who stole mushrooms from Farmer Maggot's land. He was punished for his crimes, turned into a beast in the process."

"And this beast was you, Papa?" his daughter informed him.

Frodo nodded. "Yes it was me. And so, I had to find love before my coming of age, and I did." He still didn't know how Bilbo and Maybelle's parents agreed to let him marry Maybelle, his Maybelle, but they did. But that was Before Bilbo left the Shire for Rivendell. Now that he and Maybelle were in their forties. Well, they had it good, even as he and Maybelle tucked in their children for the night, he still had his sweet, beloved May to help remind him of who he was and who he would have become if the beast returned.

But the beast didn't return physically. For in time, a new beast would emerge under different circumstances. Where his fate took him he hardly could guess. For now, this was his family and he would protect his wife and children, no matter what the cost remained. For now, this was where he belonged. And that's all he needed to hear and know in any life. Including this one.

And as our story closes, only one thing remains. Frodo and his family lived happily ever after.

 _The End._

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Thanks for reading. :)


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